Monday Huddle: The Final Push

The second bye week has come and gone for the Kentucky football program. There are only three weeks left in the regular season and the extra game during bowl season feels unlikely. We have reached the final push. The last stretch could include some changes.

Kentucky could make another quarterback change in Week 12. The defense will be getting a core piece back in the lineup. Two big games against top-25 competition are around the corner after a rare FCS contest against Murray State. A huge December also awaits. We are entering a pivotal stretch for this program and will begin to learn more about the future starting now.

KSR’s Monday Huddle sets the table for another football week. What can we expect from Kentucky in this contest against Murray State? There are many unknowns.

First Down: Looking at the future on offense

Offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan said that Cutter Boley could get an extended look during bye week practices. Head coach Mark Stoops said that he would like to see the four-star recruit in the game against Murray State. We could see Boley with the first unit on Saturday afternoon.

The Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy product received reps last week with the first team offense and could be in line to start on Saturday as Brock Vandagriff deals with what is believed to be a head injury suffered against Tennessee.

Boley would become the third quarterback to play major snaps for Kentucky this season. That is never a recipe for success but it certainly does feel like the Kentucky staff feels like they have to try something different. The move could give us a glimpse of the future.

During Saturday’s game, Boley will be surrounded by Malachi Wood, Khamari Anderson, Jamarion Wilcox, Willie Rodriguez, and Hardley Gilmore IV. These are all players in their first or second year in the program. The game against Murray State could also include some younger players like Aba Selm to show what they can do. Some moves are being made for the future.

We are slowly starting to see a youth movement on offense. That started with Wood taking over at right tackle against Auburn and continued when Wilcox was given a true RB1 usage against Tennessee. Kentucky is now turning to some of their younger players in what has been a lost season. That movement will continue with Boley on Saturday.

Is it too soon for a talented prospect to be starting? I think there is a case to be made for that but Kentucky is making a commitment to get younger on offense right now. Will the move be short-term or is Boley about to get a three-game run to end the season? We will find out shortly.

The offense has had some well-documented issues this season but they have certainly not been boring.

Second Down: Kentucky gets a key piece back on defense

Pass defense was a major problem for Kentucky football in 2023. The Wildcats finished the season ranked sub-100 in passes defended per game (No. 105), success rate (No. 123), and completion percentage (No. 127). The numbers are not much better this season.

Kentucky enters Week 12 ranked sub-100 in QB rating (143.89), yards per attempt (No. 123), and completion percentage (No. 130). The Wildcats have made a big jump in passing success rate (No. 61) but pass defense still remains a weakness.

Young quarterbacks at Florida and Tennessee each had their best performances of the season against Kentucky. The Wildcats played well against Georgia and Ole Miss but struggled against Vanderbilt’s passing attack and are giving up too many completions.

But the defense is set to get back an important playmaker this week.

Preseason All-SEC selection Maxwell Hairston has missed the last five games and that is when the pass defense began to fall apart. The redshirt junior is expected to return to the lineup and this could give the defense a boost after Kentucky was down to just two scholarship cornerbacks against Tennessee in Week 10.

After looking like a top-15 unit in September, Kentucky took a massive step back in October. The unit is dealing with some serious injury issues as D’Eryk Jackson, J.J. Weaver, Josaih Hayes, Steven Soles Jr., Jantzen Dunn, DJ Waller Jr., and Quay’Sheed Scott all missed the last game. Each was a member of Kentucky’s two-deep and expected to play a role for the defense this season. Kentucky is hopeful that the rest time in November allowed their roster to heal up.

The defense is coming off a disappointing stretch that saw DJ Lagway slice up the secondary on vertical passes and Jarquez Hunter run for a mile in Auburn’s only SEC win of the season. However, this is the same unit that put the clamps on Georgia and Ole Miss. Could a return to health show us the defense we saw in the first month of the season?

Getting the secondary’s top playmaker back in the lineup should be a big step in the right direction. For Kentucky to have a chance to knock off Texas or Louisville, this defense likely needs to play at a top-15 level again.

Third Down: This football team could really use a no-doubt victory

Murray State is not in great shape entering this matchup. The Racers are 1-9 (0-7) this season with a 51-0 to loss against Missouri. Games against North Dakota (72-35), South Dakota (59-0), North Dakota State (59-6), South Dakota State (52-6), and Missouri State (59-31) have gotten ugly this season.

This is very much a get-right spot for Kentucky. You should expect the betting line released later this week to be very high. The Wildcats need to handle their business and use this game as a confidence booster heading into the final two weeks of the season.

Kentucky is going young on offense and a good performance could give the unit a much-needed lift moving forward. This game also gives the chance for a sputtering defense to turn things around after four consecutive games where opposing offenses all went north of 5.5 yards per play .

This is a rare FCS spot for Kentucky in November against an opponent that is really struggling. The Cats need to take advantage and try to create some momentum before the road trip to Texas arrives next week.

The week ahead at KSR

Kentucky will be back in Kroger Field for the seventh time this season when the SEC program hosts Murray State. KSR will be here throughout the week as we take a look at the matchup, what a youth movement on offense can mean, and continue to discuss what awaits the program in December.

We will have full coverage of Monday’s press conference with Mark Stoops taking the podium at high noon. From there, practice reports and podcasts will take over as Saturday approaches.

At KSR+, our in-depth scouting report on Murray State will go live on Thursday along with some more pregame content.

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Kentucky has a chance at a palate cleanser on Saturday against Murray State before the schedule once again stiffens with top 25 games remaining against Texas and Louisville to close the season.